Handedness effects on imagery of dominant‐ versus non‐dominant‐hand movements: An electroencephalographic investigation

Lambert, Kathryn J. M.; Chen, Yvonne Y.; Donoff, Christopher; Elke, Jonah; Madan, Christopher R.; Singhal, Anthony

Abstract

Mental representations of our bodies are thought to influence how we interact with our surroundings. We can examine these mental representations through motor imagery, the imagination of movement using scalp EEG recordings. The visual modality of motor imagery emphasises ‘seeing’ the imagined movement and is associated with increased activity in the alpha rhythm (8–14 Hz) measured over the occipital regions. The kinaesthetic modality emphasises ‘feeling’ the movement and is associated with decreased activity in the mu rhythm (8–14 Hz) measured over the sensorimotor cortices. These two modalities can be engaged in isolation or together. We recorded EEG activity while 37 participants (17 left‐hand dominant) completed an objective hand motor imagery task. Left‐handers exhibited significant activity differences between occipital and motor regions only during imagery of right‐hand (non‐dominant‐hand) movements. This difference was primarily driven by less oscillatory activity in the mu rhythm, which may reflect a shift in imagery strategy wherein participants placed more effort into generating the kinaesthetic sensations of non‐dominant‐hand imagery. Spatial features of 8–14 Hz activity generated from principal component analysis (PCA) provide further support for a strategy shift. Right‐handers also exhibited significant differences between alpha and mu activity during imagery of non‐dominant movements. However, this difference was not primarily driven by either rhythm, and no differences were observed in the group's PCA results. Together, these findings indicate that individuals imagine movement differently when it involves their dominant versus non‐dominant hand, and left‐handers may be more flexible in their motor imagery strategies.

Citation

Lambert, K. J. M., Chen, Y. Y., Donoff, C., Elke, J., Madan, C. R., & Singhal, A. (2023). Handedness effects on imagery of dominant‐ versus non‐dominant‐hand movements: An electroencephalographic investigation. European Journal of Neuroscience, 58(5), 3286-3298. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.16096

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 5, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Jul 27, 2023
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2023
• Deposit Date: Sep 26, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 27, 2023
• Journal: European Journal of Neuroscience
• Print ISSN: 0953-816X
• Electronic ISSN: 1460-9568
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 58
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 3286-3298
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.16096
• Keywords: mu rhythm, alpha rhythm, motor imagery, handedness
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/23861211
• Publisher URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ejn.16096
• Additional Information: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.© 2023 The Authors. European Journal of Neuroscience published by Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.